Month: June 2018

Sub Pop Records recently reissued Jeremy Enigk’s Return of the Frog Queen, a circa-‘96 solo debut whose first printing remains, justifiably, a much-sought-after cult classic. It also has become, over the years, a rather interesting point of departure from Enigk’s tenure with the on-again/off-again Sunny Day Real Estate and a lightning rod for dialogue about…

High Plains today quietly released a follow-up to Cinderland, its brilliant debut and, hands down, one of last year’s best records. But, before you go all googly-eyed on me, take pause – this is not the group’s second LP proper but, instead, the digital release on Bandcamp of a tour-only cassette. And that’s an important…

If you like your modern-day interpretations of 60s trash-rock booze-drenched, then you’ll want to tune into Joan and The Rivers, a San Jose-based, EP-prone trio that released two, you guessed it, EPs – Meat Sweats Vol. 1 and 2 – last month. But, wait, wait, is that a little bit too reductive? Are these guys more than…

It was 1998 when I first heard Richard Buckner, and I instantly was transfixed. The record in question was Since, his MCA collaboration with stalwarts like Syd Straw and David Grubbs, and it was breathtaking stuff, alt-country (or post-country) at its finest — but also overflowing with engaging song-gems beyond the boundaries of the genre….

Fans of early Amos Lee – in other words: well-crafted acoustic soul – mustmustMUST tune into Spencer Kilpatrick, a Reno, Nev.-based songwriter who previewed the single “Lungs” on Soundcloud just this week. Like Lee, Kilpatrick – who’s getting primed to tour nationally, starting tomorrow – has an in indescribably smooth and endearing timbre, something transient…

SUZISUZI likes exclamation points. On Microphone’s Counter Attack, its new 12-track, 20-minute LP out via Pure Evil last month, the title of every song ends with two exclamations. And that’s appropriate, given the bombastic tendencies contained within each track. Now, SUZISUZI – “suzi” means “vein” in Japanese, as in the veins that pop out of…

A quick and overdue take: Sleep Stations is the best record From The Mouth of The Sun has ever recorded. There, it is said. Released May 18, which seems like an eternity ago, via the always-illuminating Lost Tribe Sound, the Dag Rosenqvist/Aaron Martin post-classical duo’s new record is, yes, short, just 20 minutes in all….

When they talked about making a transformation, they were talking about an ALL CAPS TRANSFORMATION. On last year’s Revel In The Rubble, the final installment in a “garbage parties” trilogy, Pittsburgh’s Cousin Boneless plied its bizarre and infinitely unique form of freak folk – think a mélange of antique-garde musings, Andrew Bird ambition, and the theatricality…